Photo By Sgt. William Begley | Katie Groves shares memories of her husband Chief Warrant Officer 3 James Groves III...... read more read more
HUNTER ARMY AIRFIELD, Ga. – The cold weather didn’t stop the members of 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade from dedicating an OH-58D Kiowa Warrior scout helicopter static display in front of their headquarters building to a fallen pilot, Chief Warrant Officer 3 James Groves III on Hunter Army Airfield March 13.
Groves died when his aircraft crashed near Kandahar, Afghanistan on March 16, 2013.
Lt. Col. Philip H. Lamb, commander, 3rd Squadron, 17th Cav. Regt., 3rd CAB welcomed the crowd of cavalry men and women and distinguished guests.
“Today we celebrate the service of a critical piece of recently retired military equipment and more importantly recognize the contribution and service of a fallen comrade as well as the sacrifice of one of our beloved Army Families,” Lamb said.
“This is a passionate population. The rest of us owe an immense amount of gratitude to this aircraft and those who employed it,” Lamb continued.
The Kiowa joins a static display which already contains a UH-1 Huey helicopter and an AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter on the lawn directly in front of the headquarters building of the 3rd Squadron, 17th Cav. Regt.
Attending the ceremony was Col. Michael Demirjian, commander, Air Traffic Services Command at Fort Rucker, Ala. Demirjian was the squadron commander of 3rd Squadron, 17th Cav. Regt., or Task Force Lighthorse as they were called when Groves deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2013.
“This is a tremendous opportunity to remember James. He was a phenomenal individual,” Demirjian said. “It’s also an opportunity to remember all the work that all Kiowa pilots did.”
After a heartfelt tribute by retired Chief Warrant Officer 4 Mark Burrows, the Groves Family along with Lt. Col. Lamb unveiled the memorial stone that accompanies the Kiowa display.
Afterwards Mr. Groves wife Katie spoke to the crowd.
“Time and time again I have heard stories from ground troops thanking God or celebrating that the Kiowa was coming,” Groves said. “He had all the patience in the world when he was teaching younger pilots. He was my rock and my protector. There is not a day goes by that I don’t think about him.”
| Date Taken: | 03.13.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 03.14.2017 11:02 |
| Story ID: | 226756 |
| Location: | SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 362 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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